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DJ Mag Japan Special Interview：A*S*Y*S

The Acid (Original Version) by A*S*Y*S

Q1. What is the meaning of your project name A*S*Y*S?

A*S*Y*S stands for “Acid Save(s) Your Soul”

When Kai Tracid, who was part of the project from 1995-2007, and I discussed the ideas about the name for our music collaboration, our love for the sound of the Roland TB-303 bassline machine played an important role. The sound has been associated with the electronic music style Acid since the mid/end 1980s. It never really died, but when we used it for our tracks, the huge hype about it was over and Acid was seen outdated.

For us, it was, however, the savior to create our main parts when we sometimes really struggled to find the right sound. Therefore, in the end, A*S*Y*S bears multiple messages. In our tunes, we gave Acid a revival (and thus saved its soul), we were saved by the great sound of the TB-303 machine, and our listeners saved their soul by listening to the music of A*S*Y*S.

Q2. Who and what inspired you to follow your path in music?

As a raver, not involved in any music production yet, I loved hanging out in Frankfurt’s most legendary clubs called ‘Omen‘ and ‘Dorian Grey‘. Both were essential to the growth of the German Techno scene and even had a worldwide impact in the early 1990s. A lot of great producers visited those clubs on a regular basis, either to listen to their own productions or to gain new inspiration.

It could really be called the “Golden Age”. Everything was new, unusual, crazy, open and just tremendously exciting. Particularly one DJ touched my soul countless times with his sets and performances: Sven Väth. He was already a superstar, I had only just done my first steps in music production.

Moreover, I had a regular job as a client service manager in a big advertising agency. So hard to imagine nowadays. When I had my first long holiday break, I woke up one morning and knew that I did not want to spend every day in an office just for a nice few weeks of holiday each year. I felt that life is literally too short, and I was determined to give it a different meaning. It was the moment I decided to turn my passion into my profession – whatever it would take.

Q3. Please talk to us about your latest release The Acid and the inspiration behind it.

About a year and a half ago I started to play more and more Techno tunes with Acid elements on my podcast „Filter’d“ - like Amelie Lens, Jay Lumen, or Thomas Schumacher. All had their certain style and I was keen to contribute to this sound in my own way - especially since Acid has been the red line during my whole producer career.

Q4. How is this track special compare to other tracks you’ve released throughout your career?

To me „The Acid“ is a manifesto regarding my latest Acid Techno productions. It is the essence of a dark & gritty vibe, leading into the „power of music“ (part of the lyrics) and the power of Acid created with a TB 303 by Roland.

Q5. Can you give some advise for the amateur DJs. How did you acquire your DJ skills during your amateur years?

To me there is nothing more important than practice, practice and again practice. You have to do it until you get an automatism when it comes to beat matching.

And on top it is very important to get to know the tracks you want to play, to know exactly which tune works the best with the others. This process is never over but an ongoing challenge to be always perfectly prepared and ready to perform on stage.

Q6. How did you learn to create tracks and production process itself?

After a holiday I had the idea to become a producer - out of the blue. Till then I was only a raver kid that loved to hang around the most famous clubs in Frankfurt/Germany: The Omen and Dorian Grey. I started with very poor equipment, a used Roland D 10, an Atari PC with 1mb Ram and a line mixer…

It was a long way till I reached a professional level. The good thing was at that time (in the early 90ties) a lot of other talented producers where active in Frankfurt, so after a while you meet more experienced guys and sometimes they where willing to share some of their skills. Beside that all was more or less a „learning by doing process“.

Q7. Please leave a private message for your fans in Japan.

I still remember two shows I played in Japan, I think in 2006. It was in Tokyo and Osaka and it was an awesome experience. The Japanese crowd was very enthusiastic and wild dancing. Also they loved to show up with fancy dresses. I remember one girl in the first line. She was dressed as a green frog..that was so funny and unusual for me to see. I still have a smile on my face thinking back.

So my personal message is that I really can’t wait to go back to Japan and to play all my new Techno stuff for this great people.